Saturday, December 17, 2011

JIU HUA SHAN 九华山

I love travelling, especially to Mountains in Autumn season.
I like the majestic scenery, the beautiful nature, of trees, cliff, stones...
My recent visit to one of the four famous Buddhist mountains: Jiu hua shan 九华山 in China's Anhui province.












I always admire the Chinese's development of Infrastructure for their tourism, especially their cable-car system that aided in bringing us to great heights within minutes to enjoy the great view. 

More info on Jiuhuashan can be found at: http://www.jiuhuashan.com.cn/jhsd/web_view.php?ty=2

Thank you to sister AW, PK, AK for contributing the pictures :-)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

开福禅寺 Kai Fu Chan Si

开福禅寺位于安徽省合肥市郊大蜀山南麓

Located at Anhui province's Hefei suburb, 开福禅寺 (Kaifuchansi) has a history of 1400 years since Tang Dynasty. It was destroyed in 1937 during the war times and finally completed restoration in 2009. And thereafter, a Majestic Monastery arises and we had the good karma to visit it as our last temple pilgrim stop this round to end our journey beautifully.

大雄宝殿 (Main Hall)
弥陀殿 (Hall of Amitabha Buddha)

It is a majestic monastery with many grand Halls such as the Hall of Amitabha Buddha, Hall of Medicine Buddha, Hall of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin) , Hall of Ksitigarbha Boddhisattva, Hall of Arhats, etc.

Majestic and serene, and one could see well organised volunteers taking care of the monastery, very orderly and so orderly that photo taking of the statures are not allowed in the Halls.

Personally, perhaps affinity, my favourite is the Hall of Amitabha Buddha, in it are majestic statures of the 3 Saints of Western Pureland.

Each Hall has its unique features and most Halls has either beautiful paintings or stone carvings that illustrates the Teachings/stories of related Buddha or Bodhisattva or Arhats. It also has a Prajna-Paramita bookstore near the entrance of the monastery that has a wise selection of free-distribution books and DVDs.
Certainly another good place to spend a peaceful day.

(fyi, unlike Spore, most temples in China do collect entrance fees (token as maintenance fee) unless you have their Triple Gem Refuge identification issued by China's temples)



Thank you to sister AW, PK, AK for contributing the pictures, Amituofo

Thursday, November 3, 2011

庐山东林寺 LU SHAN DONGLINSI

东林寺是中国净土宗的发祥地
Donglin Monastery located behind Mount Lu is the birthplace of the Pure Land School of Chinese Buddhism.

Majestic monastery with reflections of golden rays surrounding the main shrine via camera lens.


Majestic & Serene. Upon entering the premises, one feels the peacefulness surrounding the monastery. We arrived at the monastery during their afternoon chanting session timing (which they blocked entry to the main shrine) and enjoyed their serene chant while we toured around the premises.

I wish we could had stayed longer to enjoy more of the sereneness.

(Should there be an opportunity and conditions are right , I will be glad to revisit to attend a Fo3 here. Amituofo :-))

More Ref on Donglin Monastery: http://zt.donglin.org/dl/

Thank you to sister AW, PK, AK for contributing the pictures, Amituofo

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Labrador Nature Reserve












Went for a relaxing meditation outing at Labrador Park, a place of beautiful greenery & sea view besides its rich history. A great place to listen to the nature's Orchestra of birds, insects, swaying of tree leaves and waves of the sea.


In future, there is Labrador MRT at the very front entrance of the Park but there is quite a distance to walk as the Park is quite deep-in. Currently, may be accessible via SBS bus 408 from Harbour front Bus Interchange which operates only during weekend & Public Holidays.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Pulau Ubin

A day of good weather that we had for our trip to Pulau Ubin.

We arrived at Changi Jetty near Changi Village to take a bumboat to the island. The boats operate from 6am-8pm and will only leave if it has 12 passengers ($2 per person) , so one either wait or pay the difference for the boat to start the journey.




It takes only around 15 minutes to reach the island.

Once onto the island, after the jetty board to welcome you to Pulau Ubin, one steps into the rare to see kampung days' scene in city. It is a recommended way to tour the island via cycling, hence there are a couple of bicycle shops with various types of bicycles suitable for families (with baby/child seat), dual extended version for couples and mountain bikes which is more recommended for the stony, forest path of the island. And the rental is very reasonable ranging from $6-$14 depending on the age of the bicycles for a WHOLE DAY!
For those who do not cycle, they can either take a slow stroll or take a taxi/van which charges about $6-8 per person per trip (to be negotiated in advance) to the island's popular places of interest.


The roads are already much well improved compared to many years ago when we had school excursions and we decided to explore Chek Jawa, the island's popular nature site. It is about 20minutes' bicycle ride from the jetty.


All car passengers or cyclists have to alight and park their bicycles just outside the reserve. A short walk to the right and one reaches the Information Kiosk manned by at least 2 friendly rangers where you can get information brochures on the Chek Jawa Wetland.





First sign of wildlife on land that we saw a mother wild boar with her kids near the kiosk.





We decided to begin with the rightmost path and a beautiful British colonial era cottage - House No 1- Chek Jawa Visitor Centre, appeared before us. The other side of the cottage has a fantastic sea view with a viewing jetty.



Beware, these are not beautiful greenland but green mosses floating above the water near the shore that one may mistaken.












A great place to watch planes flying low in the sky, a beautiful picture of technology and nature.



From the cottage, we walked back to the information kiosk and embarked on the 2nd path that leads us to what resembles the boardwalk concept at Macritchie Reservoir. There is a small adventurous sloppy path before one reaches the Coastal Boardwalk.










Near the end of the boardwalk, we reached the Seagrass Lagoon which we spotted the secretive crabs and mudskippers.


To be continued....


Sunday, February 13, 2011

Views from Singapore Flyer

Welcoming guests to Singapore Flyer in the Year of Rabbit






Sunrise
!


Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort





A reflection of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the flyer cabin


Wishing All a Prosperous Year from the God of Wealth while descending back to ground :-)


Nice garden at ground level

The 165m high Singapore Flyer is located at 30 Raffles avenue, #01-07, Singapore 039803.

Contact: 67348829.

More info of Singapore Flyers can be found from: http://www.singaporeflyer.com/en/visitor-guide/index.php